Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the provisions of the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) Regulations 2006 (“the Eligibility Regulations”) which determine which persons from abroad, other than persons subject to immigration control, are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 or for housing assistance under Part 7 of that Act. For these purposes, ‘person subject to immigration control’ has the meaning given in section 13(2) of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 (c.49).

A person who is not subject to immigration control is ineligible for an allocation or for housing assistance if he is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland, unless specifically exempted from that requirement (see regulations 4(1)(a) and (2) , and 6(1)(a) and (2), of the Eligibility Regulations).

The effect of the amendments made by regulation 2 is to insert a new category of persons who are exempt from the habitual residence test. The category applies to nationals of Bulgaria and Romania, countries which accede to the European Union on 1st January 2007. Those Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who are subject to the worker authorisation scheme established by the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/3317) are exempt from the habitual residence test when they are treated as workers pursuant to those Regulations. The Regulations do this by substituting the exemption category in sub-paragraph (c) of regulations 4(2) and 6(2) of the Eligibility Regulations, relating to workers from eight of the ten member States which acceded to the European Union on 1st May 2004, with a wider exemption relating both to those workers and to workers from Romania and Bulgaria.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as they have no impact on the costs of business, charities or voluntary bodies.